The clue is there in the Latin inscription on Andy Robertson’s school uniform.

Floreat Iuventus. Or, to give the school motto of St Ninian’s High School its English translation – Let Youth Flourish.

The uneven tie knot and oversized blazer tell their own story – of a kid too focused on sporting success to worry too much about the finer points of school uniform.

Today, the youthful hopeful pictured at school in Giffnock, near Glasgow, has flourished all right.

He now stands on the brink of footballing immortality.

As Liverpool’s starting left-back, 24-year-old Andy is poised to join an exclusive group of Scots who have won the European Cup as he will be part of the squad who take on Real Madrid in Kiev’s NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in 13 nights time.

Andrew Robertson (R) in the Champions League and (inset) as schoolboy (Image: Getty)

Andy as a schoolkid (Image: SUNDAY MAIL)

In a four-page special today, the Sunday Mail traces the roots of the world-class defender who has become one of Scotland’s biggest sporting stars.

In the space of eight years, he’s gone from being released by Celtic to becoming the second most recognisable Scottish sports star on the planet behind Andy Murray.

BBC pundit and Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson has rated his transfer value at £40million, a fee which could look like a conservative estimate if he can tame Real and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The people who have been there every step of the way all spoke of his unusual determination to succeed. They hailed his character which they say would have made Andy a success in any walk of life.

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Willie, who has worked for the SFA for 14 years, said: “Celtic had let him go and he came into the Queen’s Park youth set-up.

“I know it always sticks in the throat of people at Celtic that they let him go but you cannot always get everything right. Luckily he ended up at Queen’s Park who gave him the perfect platform because he had talent in abundance.

“They build up the confidence of people who have had a knock and put them back in the shop window.

“Andy worked in the ticket office and helped out in the hospitality areas during concerts and international matches. That gave him a wage while he was playing for Queen’s Park, who are amateur.”

While working at a game at Hampden in 2013, he showed Manchester City and Belgium captain Vincent Kompany to his seat and gave him a programme.

Less than five years later, he was playing against Kompany in the Liverpool side who beat Manchester City at Anfield.

Willie told how the level-headed youngster, who has since played 22 times for his country, knuckled down to do a range of tasks.

Willie Neil worked with Andy during his Queen's Park days (Image: Daily Record)

He said: “He came on board to work with me. I do strips for all the Scotland teams through the various age groups and squads, including the women, up to the national team.

“When Scotland trained at Hampden during the day, he would have been helping hand out the strips to the stars of the day like Darren Fletcher. He would also fold the jumpers and make sure all the kit was clean.